By Teresa Rivas

American depositary shares of Vodafone (VOD) were down 0.9% during regular trading today, but R. W. Baird’s William Power expects the stock can rev up and reach $30.

Power today initiated coverage of the stock with an Outperform rating, writing “Vodafone represents an attractive way to invest in the strong trends at Verizon Wireless at a reasonable valuation” and that it represents a play on growth in emerging markets, with an impressive yield that is likely to rise.

Power estimates that the company’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless could be worth more than $90 billion, which accounts for more than half of Vodafone’s enterprise value. There is also upside for more data usage as smartphones grow more ubiquitous.

He also notes that the company’s geographic exposure is attractive; while Southern Europe remains problematic, that region contributes just 17% to proportionate revenue. Moreover, he writes that developing nations, including India and South Africa where Vodafone is well positioned, are growing rapidly.

As for valuation, Power sees Vodafone as ‘attractive’: “VOD currently trades at 10.5x our FY’13 EPS forecast and 9.9x FY’14, slightly above its European counterparts, though well below AT&T (T) at 13.4x and Verizon (VZ) at 15.3x, despite its Verizon Wireless exposure.

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Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.